Page 28 of State of Retribution (First Family #9)

“I don’t mean it to be, but it’s a reminder that sometimes the evidence leads in another direction, and before you flog yourself to within an inch of your own life, let’s wait to see what the evidence shows.”

“You’re not entirely wrong.”

“Just kinda wrong?”

“Something like that.” After a long pause, she said, “Thank you for talking me down a little bit.”

“I want you to know that I understand, better than anyone else ever could, how awful it feels to be responsible for something happening to someone you care about—or even people you’ve never met. I get it.”

“You mean Juan.”

“Among others. I’ve lost service members, too.”

“It’s easy to say it’s not our fault, but these things strike awfully close to home.”

“They do, for sure.”

“It’s the worst feeling.”

“I know. Close your eyes and try to put it aside for a few hours. You can hit it hard in the morning with a fresh outlook.”

“They killed a graduate student tonight. He was on the way home from a twenty-four-hour gym.” Tears slid down her cheeks as she imagined his poor parents getting that phone call, after they’d done everything right, getting their son through college and into graduate school, thinking they were home free.

That the worst of the risk was behind them and not waiting to strike him down for no good reason.

No matter what it took, she’d find the person or people who did this, and she’d ensure they spent the rest of their lives in prison. Even if it was the last thing she ever did.

Sam’s eyes opened early the next morning with a fresh thought about her working theory: If the goal was to lure her out into the open, why had people been murdered on a weekend when the whole world knew she and Nick would be at Camp David?

Maybe none of it had anything to do with her except for the shooting on the street yesterday.

If that was true, she was back to square one.

But a nagging feeling in the gut she could usually count on to steer her straight was pushing her to pursue the idea. If only her gut hadn’t recently had a big failure, when she’d gone all in on pursuing a case against Elaine Myerson’s teenage daughters, only to have them turn out to be innocent.

She’d been so sure they had done it.

And she’d been dead-ass wrong.

Sam reached for her phone on the charger and texted Vernon to ask about Jimmy.

He had a good night. I stopped by on the way in this morning, and I gave him your regards as well. He was glad to hear you were uninjured.

Thanks for passing that on to him. I’m glad to hear he’s doing well. When will they release him?

Tomorrow, if he continues to make good progress.

Thanks for the update. I guess I’ll see you in the meeting today.

I’ll be there.

Nick came out of their bathroom, dressed for another day of world domination in a navy blue suit with subtle pinstripes. Sexiest man on this planet or any other.

“What?” he asked when he caught her staring at him.

“Just admiring the view.”

“Stop.” She loved how her commentary about his hotness mortified him. It was one of her many favorite things about him, and it infused a touch of normality into a morning that felt anything but.

“I’ll never stop thinking my husband is the hottest man in the whole universe.”

“You’re in better spirits this morning.”

“Not really, but the sight of you in a suit always gets my motor running.”

Smiling, he sat next to her on the bed and took her hand. “I’ve got my security briefing in thirty minutes. I’ll get Scotty moving. He’s going in an hour early for algebra tutoring.”

“He must be thrilled about that.”

“He refused to discuss it last night. Can you handle the twins?”

“Yep.”

“And you remember the Secret Service meeting at nine?”

“I’ll be there. And speaking of the Secret Service, Vernon says Jimmy had a good night and could be released as soon as tomorrow.”

“That’s very good news.”

“Yeah, it is.” Sam slid her fingers over the silk of his royal blue tie. “At this meeting today, I want you to remember the deal we made when we started the White House phase of our journey.”

“I remember.”

“And you’ll fight for me?”

“Always. I’m on Team Samantha.”

“Even if you’d rather keep me under lock and key here where I’d be safe and protected?”

“Even if.” He leaned in to kiss her. “As I’ve said before, I know exactly who I married and what she needs to be happy. I’ll do everything in my power to make sure she gets that.”

“She thinks you’re very sexy when you’re flexing your power muscles.”

His scowl indicated what he thought of that comment.

Sam laughed. “What? It’s true.”

“Be prepared for significant pushback. There’s always a big correction after an incident like what happened yesterday, especially on top of Monday’s events.”

“Still no word on where the drones came from?”

“Not that I’ve heard. I’m hoping for more info in the briefing this morning.”

“I’m bringing Avery and his team in on my theory this morning.”

“That’s not a bad idea, even if it goes against everything you believe in to ask for outside help.”

“There’s no time for ego or pride in a situation like this.”

“Aw, look at you. All evolved and stuff.”

“Haha, underneath it all, I’m still the same feral beast I’ve always been when it comes to calling in the Feds.”

“I love my little feral beast more than anything.” He kissed her again and got up. “I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”

“Will you sit next to me at the meeting?”

“Of course I will. When do I ever pass up a chance to hold hands with my best girl?”

Sam smiled. “Well played, Mr. President.”

“Love you.”

“Love you, too.”